Agnosticism About Artificial Consciousness

TL;DR

This paper argues that due to the lack of solid scientific evidence, the most justifiable stance on artificial consciousness is agnosticism, challenging both biological and functionalist views that overestimate current evidence.

Contribution

It advocates for an evidentialist approach, proposing that we should remain agnostic about artificial consciousness until more scientific evidence is available.

Findings

Both biological and functionalist camps overestimate evidence for AI consciousness

Current scientific methods are insufficient to assess AI consciousness reliably

Agnosticism is the most scientifically justified position on artificial consciousness

Abstract

Could an AI have conscious experiences? Any answer to this question should conform to Evidentialism - that is, it should be based not on intuition, dogma or speculation but on solid scientific evidence. I argue that such evidence is hard to come by and that the only justifiable stance on the prospects of artificial consciousness is agnosticism. In the current debate, the main division is between biological views that are sceptical of artificial consciousness and functional views that are sympathetic to it. I argue that both camps make the same mistake of over-estimating what the evidence tells us. Scientific insights into consciousness have been achieved through the study of conscious organisms. Although this has enabled cautious assessments of consciousness in various creatures, extending this to AI faces serious obstacles. AI thus presents consciousness researchers with a dilemma: either reach a verdict on artificial consciousness but violate Evidentialism; or respect Evidentialism but offer no verdict on the prospects of artificial consciousness. The dominant trend in the literature has been to take the first option while purporting to follow the scientific evidence. I argue that if we truly follow the evidence, we must take the second option and adopt agnosticism.